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How to Make a Fascinator

I don’t remember quite when it all started but I have a thing for fascinators. I think it has something to do with the fact that it’s common at my church, and probably many other churches, to wear a fancy hat on Sunday. I don’t own any fancy hats and let’s just say the big hats with all the fabulous rainbows of feathers and diamonds and whatnots are not really my cup of tea. So, trying to find a happy medium, I gravitated toward the fascinator. A fascinator can definitely be super big and fancy if that’s the look you want, but it can also be very sweet and petite like these.

Several months ago my church had a really nice tea {if you follow me on Instagram you saw it} to which the women wore pretty dresses and hats. I didn’t own a fascinator and all the thrift shops I had visited had been scrubbed clean of anything close to a fascinator. I did, however, find some church hats with feathers, random rhinestones and veils on them. I snatched them up, took them home and got to work. I pulled something together using these materials and some random items from home. As luck would have it, it turned out pretty nice and it was a cinch to make. Take it from me, if I can make it, you can make it!

What does that mean for you? Well, it means your wildest dreams have come true! Hold the applause. Here’s a short D.I.Y. to make your very own fascinator! This tutorial uses supplies that you actually purchase from a craft store, but feel free to pop into a thrift store and see what you can find. Good Luck!

1. Glue pre-gathered feather bunch (image 2) directly onto the middle of the feather fan (image 3). Apply a generous amount of glue to keep the feathers in place. Allow glue to dry. {You’ll see the clip next to the feathers below to show where the clip will end up at the end.}

1. Measure out 9 inches of tulle (image 4). This should be enough tulle cover the fabric semi-circle of the feather fan. (image 3). Apply a generous amount of glue t the fabric semi-circle and glue the tulle on top. Allow glue to dry.

2. You now have one side of the feather fan with glue and tulle and the other side that is untouched. Glue the feather bundle (image 2) to the untouched side of the feather fan. Glue the clip (image 6) to the other side. Allow the glue to dry before moving to the next step.

3. Turn the fascinator over and you should have layers. At the bottom is the clip, next is the tulle, next is the feather fan and last is the feather bundle. Now you can add your broach (image 7)

4. At this point your fascinator will almost be finished. Arrange your pin and tulle how you like.

5. Remove the self-stick gems (image 5) and begin to apply to the tulle. You can use as many or as few as you wish.

6. And VOILA! You’re very own D.I. Y. fascinator!

The fascinator probably seems a little over-sized on Julia’s head, but on an adult it works nicely.

I hope you’ll try this D.I.Y. and share how yours turns out. I think you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to make. And if you get a D.I.Y. itch, make sure you check out this really easy Valentine’s Card tutorial. Enjoy!